Friday, July 12, 2013

WEEK 9

WEEK 9: April 29, 2013

¡Hola Familia Y Amigos!

¿Como están ustedes? Life here changes daily! The people we teach, the experiences that happen, and the new inner battles that occur. I feel so much love and strength as I read your letters! It is good to hear from those who love and know me the most!

This gospel is amazing in how much it blesses and impacts families. We just went to a baptism from another companionship. One of the girls being baptized was 11. Wow. The smile on her face, she knows with all her heart that is where she wants to be, that she loves the Lord. There were a total of 5 baptized! And each one brought their families and their friends and you could see the impact it had on those closest to them. Now their family history work can take place, generations to come can benefit from it, it is an incredible impact that just one beautiful soul can have on all of their generations (before, current, and to come). That is our purpose as missionaries! To bring souls unto Christ. That our trials may be swallowed up in exceeding great joy!

The Lord works in such mysterious, yet incredible ways. I have seen His hand so much as new trials and challenges have come my way. I am once again (YAY!) a part of a tri-companionship. My other companion’s name is Hermana Calderòn, SHE IS A FIRE CRACKER! Haha! What a crazy girl. She is from Lima, Peru and she is so loveable. It is quite the contrast from my quiet, humble, and reserved Hermana Phillips. I am a good balance between the two. I need to be a little crazy at the end of the day-- to laugh to sing -- and I need the quiet reserves of my mind as well!

I am accelerating in my Spanish!! Hermana Calderòn does not speak ANY English! What an answer to prayers. Hermana Phillips was speaking very little to me in Spanish and it would be hard sometimes to switch my brain to the new language. I wanted more language exposure. Well Kaitlyn, be careful what you wish for! LOL! Seriously HaHa!

Because it has been a whole new emotional rollercoaster and…Wow! My head hurts so much everyday from trying to translate everything in my mind. I have a need to express myself.  And I am trying, but I feel I have like a zero vocabulary in this area and so in turn I would feel like a failure. My first companion didn’t know how to help me with this. Quite frankly, I didn’t know how to help myself...

Another one of my prayers was answered too. I needed to speak to someone about this, preferably President Armstrong. We have been advised to not seek direct counsel as girls from our district leaders, this is because they are of the opposite sex and it could possibly lead to endearing feelings. Yet I didn’t know how to get to Montevideo to see the Mission President and for what I thought was a rather silly thing. Low and behold-- President Armstrong came to our ward yesterday and I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss freely with him a few problems that were occurring. He stated that quite frankly I was leaps and bounds ahead of those I came with in my thinking and that I really should consider putting that voice inside my head saying "you should be doing much better" on the shelf or out the window for awhile. He told me that this kind of thinking doesn’t have a place. It helped to hear it coming from him. I feel so much more relieved. I think I was running faster than I had strength. The Lord will help me learn in His own time and in His own way. I just need to continue to work hard and do my part to be the best I can each day.

This work is incredible! I have seriously watched it change lives this week. I had the opportunity to do an intercambio with Hermana Vargas (hopefully pictures next week, sorry forgot them!) and we had an incredible experience. This man, Marcello, that Hermana Vargas had met previously on the street had made an appointment, and that day we were together was the day we visited him. He openly stated and desired to know why we were missionaries. He told us that he did not believe in God. He did not believe that God cared about him. He is jobless, has a family to care for, and near zero food in the house. And there we sat, bellies full, hardly any cares in the world, and we had hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our eyes.   

I know that it was through the Holy Ghost I was able to 1) understand his immediate questions and 2) be able to respond boldly that we are messengers of Jesus Christ. We are here to invite souls to come unto Christ. To share how this gospel has impacted our lives. To share our love of God and God’s love with all man kind. 

He tended to focus on material things, yet Marcello and Dyanna (his wife, religious Catholic) changed so much as we talked with them about the Book of Mormon and the Plan of Salvation. We saw this man change his hard expression of distain into an expression of humility, and he felt the spirit testify to his whole soul of the divinity of God, that God is there, He desires to help him. I saw as this man knelt down for the first time in his life and said a prayer. Words cannot describe my joy.

I love this work! I wish I had more time to share with you the stories I have! There are so many more. We are working hard!! We are walking in the dirt roads of La Paz. We are letting ourselves become servants of God. 

All my love! 
Hermana Hansen


No comments:

Post a Comment